_God tempers the Wind_ (No. 22. p. 357.)--Le Roux de Liney, _Livre des
Proverbes Français_ (Paris, 1842), tom. i. p. 11., cites the following
proverbs--
"Dieu mesure le froid à la brebis tondue,
ou,
Dieu donne le froid selon la robbe,"
from Henri Estienne, _Prémices_, &c., p. 47., a collection of proverbs
published in 1594. He also quotes from Gabriel Meurier, _Trésor des
Sentences_, of the sixteenth century:--
"Dieu aide les mal vestus."
SIWEL.
April 5. 1850.
_Sterne's Koran_ (No. 14. p. 216.)--An inquiry respecting this work
appeared in the _Gent. Mag._, vol. lxvii. pt. ii. p. 565.; and at p.
755. we are told by a writer under the signature of "Normanus," that in
_his_ edition of Sterne, printed at Dublin, 1775, 5 vols. 12mo., the
Koran was placed at the end, the editor honestly confessing that it was
_not_ the production of Sterne, but of Mr. Richard Griffith (son of Mrs.
Griffith, the _Novellettist_), then a gentleman of large fortune seated
at Millecent, co. Kildare, and married to a daughter of the late Ld.
C.B. Burgh.
I possess a copy of an indifferent edition of Sterne's works, in point
of paper and type, "Printed for J. Mozley, Gainsbrough, 1795. 8 vols.
12mo." The Koran is in the sixth vol., termed "The Posthumous Works of
L. Sterne," dedicated to the Earl of Charlemont by the editor, who, in
his address to the reader, professes to have received the MS. from the
hands of the author some time before his untimely death.
This I hope will answer the Query of "E.L.N.:" and at the same time I
wish to express my regret, that we do not possess a really good and
complete edition of Sterne's Works, with a Life and literary history of
them, incorporating the amusing illustrations by Dr. Ferriar.
F.R.A.
April 12. 1850.
_Lollius._--In answer to "J.M.B." (No. 19. p. 303.) as to who was the
Lollius spoken of by Chaucer, I send you the following. _Lollius_ was
the real or fictitious name of the author or translator of many of our
Gothic prose romances. D'Israeli, in his admirable _Amenities of
Literature_, vol. i. p. 141., says:--
"In some colophons of the prose romances the names of real
persons are assigned as the writers; but the same romance is
equally ascribed to different persons, and works are given as
translations which in fact are originals. Amid this prevailing
confusion, and these contradictory statements, we must agree
with the editor of Warton, that we cannot with any confidence
name the author of any of these prose romances. Ritson has aptly
treated these pseudonymous translators as 'men of straw.' We may
say of them all, as the antiquary Douce, in the agony of his
baffled researches after one of their favourite authorities, a
Will o' the Wisp named LOLLIUS, exclaimed, somewhat
gravely,--'Of Lollius it will become every one to speak with
diffidence.'"
Perhaps this "scrap" of information may lead to something more
extensive.